Checking in with this summer's Illinois Open Quantum Initiative fellows

Instead of a pool, these students use their summer to dive into quantum information research as part of the Open Quantum Initiative (OQI) fellowship program.

The OQI fellowship takes the traditional summer research experience for undergraduates to the next level. Accepted fellows start their internship with a quantum industry site visit, then join a group at one of seven partner institutions of the Chicago Quantum Exchange, and finish with a joint OQI Research Symposium.

This year, the cohort enjoyed a trip to IBM Research Headquarters in Yorktown Heights and the JP Morgan offices in New York City. Both companies maintain active interests in quantum research.

The industry-focused trip at the start of the fellowship is a hallmark of the OQI program. It gives students a chance to see what a future quantum career may look like. This immersive experience was complemented by fun excursions in Manhattan.

Four students at the University of Illinois are participating in quantum information research. Their projects range from theoretical to computational to working with various experimental quantum computing platforms.

One of the local OQI fellows is Chicago native Praise Daniels, who previously attended Wilbur Wright College before transferring to Illinois this coming fall.  Daniels is a computer science major who applied for the fellowship because he wanted to explore the role that someone with his skillset might play in a field that appears dominated by physicists and engineers. 

As part of the research group of Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering Andre Schleife, Daniels is working at the intersection of material science and quantum information. Using quantum principles, like using a wave function to represent electrons, we can better understand the properties of materials, like how quickly a specific material absorbs energy from an electron. This property is called stopping power and is the primary focus of Daniels’ project.

Although Daniels' contribution includes machine learning concepts that are more closely connected to his computer science foundation, the materials science concepts are more novel to him.

“As a computer science major, I am doing a lot of self-study to bolster my previous knowledge of physics and chemistry; I like problem-solving. When one of my mentors (including graduate students Yifan Yao and Gillian Nolan) says something that might initially go over my head, I know I have the ability to understand that and they often explain it with drawings or examples to help me,” says Daniels.

Joel Benjamin Manzi Ruzindana is a rising junior at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. This summer, he is working in the research group of Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Chris Anderson. A recent addition to Illinois, the Anderson group focuses on creating semiconductor spin qubits for quantum repeaters—machinery that can transmit quantum information over long distances without losing it—and is still setting up elements of its physical lab space.

Ruzindana’s project has two parts: simulating and then building a part of the repeater called an edge coupler, which couples a photon emitted from the semiconductor qubit system to optical fiber. The fiber is used to transport these photons, onto which the quantum information in the semiconductor qubits has been transferred over long distances.

“To get the most out of our repeaters, we need the best coupling possible to the optical fiber. To figure out which design is best, I run a simulation of the shape, the angle, and the distance to the fiber optic cable of the silicon carbide that makes up the edge coupler on which I am working,” says Ruzindana.

So far, Ruzindana has had success with the simulations and can draw on previous undergraduate research experiences simulating elements of semiconductor devices. Still, he emphasizes that interpreting the simulation results can be challenging and often requires the help of graduate student mentor Santiago Vargas-Daniels and other graduate students in collaborating groups.

“If you ask for help, you will get a lot of it,” says Ruzindana.

That advice from fellow research group members goes beyond the project's scope: Ruzindana is now trying out bouldering and top roping (another form of rock climbing).

Rising senior Margaux Basart, a rising senior at Colorado School of Mines, is working in the laboratory of Assistant Professor of Physics Elizabeth Goldschmidt. The experimental group, which studies quantum information processing through light-matter interactions, is a good fit for Basart, who applied to the OQI program for more hands-on experience in quantum science and the networking opportunities and industry-focused programming the fellowship provides.

Basart’s project, mentored by graduate student Ashwith Prabhu, involves “designing and implementing electrodes to be used in creating an atomic mirror, which reflects light by manipulating praseodymium ions within a crystal.” 

“I spent a lot of time troubleshooting ideas for the electrode design. One of the biggest challenges was how to electrically connect the electrode. I went through a lot of to-scale prototypes to find the most reliable application method and ended up on a design that uses a layer of silver paint to maximize conductivity, varnish to adhere the wire to the electrode, and then another layer of silver paint to ensure the wire is electrically connected,” says Basart.

The project has exposed her to various experimental components, including tabletop lasers and a small cryostat, cementing her desire to pursue hardware-based work in the future.

Abdulsalam Odofin-Kamorudeen, a rising sophomore at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is working in the Department of Chemistry under Assistant Professor of Chemistry Mikael Backlund.

“I’ve always been curious about how research is done. Back home in Nigeria, I haven’t had such experiences and wanted to start research as quickly as possible. Moreover, quantum research has always fascinated me and when I saw this program online I knew I had to apply,” says Odofin-Kamorudeen.

For his project, Odofin-Kamorudeen is building a magnetic field sensing setup that uses nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamonds. These defects create quantum states that are sensitive to nearby magnetic fields and can, therefore, be used as sensors. As a freshman on this project, the close mentorship of grad student Aksshay Nandakumar Regeni has been very helpful to him, as has weekly one-on-one time with faculty advisor Backlund.

At this point in the program, it is already clear that the fellowship has made a lasting impact on Odofin-Kamorudeen. What stands out further is his desire to give back and share the knowledge he has gained. He has pitched plans for a 3-D computer animation of the nitrogen-vacancy to his faculty advisor, and long-term wants to write a book about quantum sensing for Nigerian students interested in learning more about the subject.

This desire to form a quantum-ready next generation is central to the overall goal of the OQI fellowship, and it is a testament to the program's efficacy that its current participants are already looking to carry on this work. In just a few weeks, at the concluding research symposiums, the four students from Illinois groups will be able to share their work with the students placed at other institutions, further disseminating the knowledge they have gained.

The Open Quantum Initiative (OQI) undergraduate fellowship program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is made possible by funding provided by the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks (HQAN), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.